World Snooker dismiss O'Sullivan claims he's being 'raped' by the ranking system

Three-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan claims he is being 'blackmailed' by the game's governing body, saying they are 'raping' him by making ranking points available for smaller tournaments.

Earlier this month, the often-outspoken 35-year-old won the seventh in a series of 12 Players Tour Championship (PTC) events being staged by World Snooker in a bid to address previous claims from players that there were not enough tournaments.

Valuable ranking points have been tagged to the events, and O'Sullivan won the most recent of them in Gloucester, picking up a prize of £10,000 in the process, and he sits top of the Order of Merit having also tasted victory in the first PTC in Sheffield.

Hitting out: Ronnie O'Sullivan is unhappy with the share of ranking points given out across the tournaments

As one of the richer players on the professional circuit - O'Sullivan's career earnings top £6million - a minimal prize makes little difference, while he insists there are players lower down the ladder who are losing money by taking part in the tournaments, the next of which is in Killarney this weekend.

'I feel like I'm being raped when I'm playing in them,' O'Sullivan, a five-time world number one but currently ranked 12, said. 'I feel I'm being blackmailed.

'They put these ranking events on and ranking points at these tournaments and it just feels like the winner's prize is not great, the loser's prize... most players are going there and losing money, but they're putting ranking points on so it's forcing the players to play in it, which is not great, but what do you do? You have to go.

'The lower-ranked players can't afford it and the top-ranked players don't really get rewarded for what they do, so no-one is a winner. But I have to play in them, there's not a lot you can do, you've got to do it. But I don't agree with them.'

Fall from the grace: The Rocket is close to slipping out of the elite 16

World Snooker responded to the controversial remarks by stressing there was no obligation to enter the PTC tournaments, which were introduced last season.

World Snooker also pointed out that prize money on the snooker tour has almost doubled inside the last two years, with a £70,000 jackpot for the champion at the PTC Grand Final.

The ranking points on offer have proved to be especially vital for O'Sullivan, though, who had been in danger of slipping outside the game's elite 16 until his 4-2 win over Matthew Stevens in Gloucester.

Having a ranking of 17 or lower would force O'Sullivan, widely regarded as the most talented player the sport has seen, to qualify for major championships.

Retort: World Snooker have dismissed the claims

More often than not, qualifying, as with PTCs, takes place in front of little or no audience, with matches largely played in cubicles and with no television coverage.

Stephen Maguire last week complained about playing in such conditions, but O'Sullivan, despite sharing the Scot's contempt for PTCs, is not worried about the lack of people watching.

'I've played on my own in a room for the last 20 years, I don't need anyone to watch me,' he added. 'I just love the sound of the balls. It's much better to play in a great atmosphere but the actual reality of it is that most of our time we play in a room where no-one watches us.

'I can get my head around that, but obviously they are two different games. You get people that perform better under pressure, which means cameras and crowds, and you get some that can't perform under that pressure, so the true test is at the big events where the bigger players will come through. But these other little events, we have to play.'

In a statement, World Snooker said: 'We have a responsibility to provide events for all 99 players on the main tour and the PTC events offer playing opportunities for them. Players have the choice whether to enter each event.

'The top prize at each PTC may only be £10,000, but the top 24 at the end of the series go through to the Grand Final, when the top prize is £70,000. Two seasons ago there were only seven or eight events on the main tour calendar; now there are nearly 30 and total prize money has virtually doubled.'